For complex reasons, Shakespeare has always revealed as much about those who speculate on him as the speculators have revealed about him. In this course, we will engage a few plays in considerable depth: Merchant of Venice, King Lear or Hamlet and Antony and Cleopatra. But we will also use these works as a means to engage some of the most compelling trends in recent critical thought, including cultural theory and post-Marxist analysis, political theology, deconstruction and rhetorical theory, psychoanalytic thought and theories of gender and sexuality. In some instances, we will look at applied criticism, in others we will simply place a theoretical work along side a play and see what they have to say to each other--what, for instance, would a Shakespearean reading of Jacques Lacan look like?

Class Format: discussion

Requirements/Evaluation: active class participation and 20 pages of writing in the form of two short and one longer paper

Additional Info:

Additional Info2:

Prerequisites: a 100-level English course, or a score of 5 on the Advanced Placement examination in English Literature or a 6 or 7 on the International Baccalaureate

Enrollment Preference: English majors

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Material and Lab Fees:

Distribution Notes: meets Division 1 requirement if registration is under ENGL or THEA; meets Division 2 requirement if registration is under WGSS